Blank feeder



LATBQMBARD.

l 'BLANK FEEDER'. A APPLICATION 'man' p'c.12.'\9z1;

Ressl'led Feb. 28j, 1922.'

Y A TTURNE v UNITED STAT-Es' PATENT OFFICE'. f

LEON Ej LA BCMBAED, or CHEISEA, MASSACHUSETTS, AssICNoR To SPECIALTY AUTo- MATIC MACHINE COMPANY, or CHELSEA, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPCEATICN gy MASSACHUSETTS.

BLANK' FEEDER.

reissue'led December `12,

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it'kno'wn that I, LEoN E. LA BCMBARD, a Citizen of the United States, and resident. of Chelsea, in the countyof Suffolk andv State of Massachusetts, havel invented certain new and usefullmprovements in Blank. Feeders, of whichjthe following is a specification. j,

-This invention relates to feeding mecha` nisms suchas are em loyed in connection with machines forfol ing paperblanks to v make boxes or envelopes, or inconnection with printin presses, and my invention re- 'fers particu arly to such feeding mechanisrhs as detach the-blanks or sheets singly from the bottom of a pile.

vIn feeders of thisftype there v,is-a liability per decreases, this resulting from theV re.

duction of pressure dueto the gradual diminution ofV weightof the superposed blanks, and the consequent reduction of feed-effect of the friction device operating against thev under surface of the lowermost blank.

` The chief objectofmy invention` is to provide a feeder which willincrease the ceri tainty of the blanks followin regularly spaced, without liability of'fskip-`A l ping any blanks, so long as there are any Of the accompanying each other blanks at i all "to be fed from ith this the supply and other 'objects in view, my

invention consists in the improvements substantially as hereinafter described and claimed. f

drawings: Figure 1 is a plan View illustrating my yim rovements in one embodiment thereof.

ig'. 2,represents ajsection on line 2-52 of belts for de ivering the blanks from the Lj '.--feeder to whatever machine is to operateon said blanks f w i. the" right of 'the'upper part of Fig. l1. "Similar reference characters indicate simvilar parts in all of the views. f

{Figl 3 isgadetail elevation.looking` from Portions of Vthe frame ofthe machine to which'imy `improved feed mechanism 1s attached are indicated at 12, said portions be ing connected by a cronbar 'or tie rod 13.

i-I Two frame brackets 14' are secured vto the tie" rod13,-andmay vbe additionally held specification orneissqed Letters Parent. Rissu'ed Feb. 28,' 1922 Original No. 1,352,284,11atel1September?, 1920, Serial o. 161,432, filed April 12, 1917. .Applicatiqn for 1921. Serlal No. 521,931.

A spring 24 coiled on the shaft 17 is con-I fined between the hub of friction disk 23 and a collar 25 adjustably secured to the shaft. Any equivalent connections that will cause shaft 18 to frictionally drive shaft 17 may be substituted for those just del l Two horizontal bars 26, 27,'are suitably supported, as by blocks 28 mounted on tie rod 13 and adapted to be secured in adjusted position thereon, according to the' width of the blanks, by screws 29V.. The bar 26 carnes an upright plate 30 as -a guide for one sidev of the pile of blanks, the other side being guided by a vertical rod -31 (shown only in Fig. 1) secured to an arm 32 hauig its hub laterally adjustable on tie ro Secured to shaft 18 is a drum Mounted onsaid drumI and onv 4tie rod'- 15 or on` small'pulleys carried bythe tie rod'are one' or more feed ,belts 34 of rubber or other -suitablematerial to frictionally engage and4 carry the blanks. To hold the blanks' in operative contact with said belt or belts, a

series ofgravity-rolls 35 are loosely mounted- 1n a frame comprising side lates 36 and Va block 37, "said plates andi block! being mounted on tie rod 16. A supplemental roll 38, above the delivery end of feed belt 34, is carried by `a. small shaft 39 supported.

by the bars 26, 27.

Secured, to block 37,

or gage strip 40 to cooperate with the plate 'either' rigidly or si) 4that it may be vertically adjusted, is a plate 30, rod31, and the rear pins presently (le-V scribed, in holding the stack or pile of blanks kin position, said parts constituting a hopper for Va pile of blanks a (Fig. 2). It

is. not necessary'toillustrate' the member 40 asadjustable', because such adjustable .devices arewell known in this art, the blanks being fed one by one through a narrow space between the lower edge of the member 40` and the friction feeder, theflatter being, in

l this case, the belt or belts B4. The said narrow spaceA constitutes an outlet throat the 'predetermined vertical width of which is always suicient to permit the passage of one, and only one, blank at a timewthe lower end of the gage strip 40 serving as a positive barrier to the passage of 'the blank next above the bottom one.

Secured to shaft 17, and accommodated in a recess in the lower portion of strip or plate 40 and block 37, is a presser for the front i edges of the blanks, the presser illustrated the bottom of the pile will be engaged by bottom one has passed out. 17'is frictionally driven to cause the presser consisting of a toothed or milled wheel 41.

In-Figu'resl and 2 the'eXtent of projection of the toothed wheel through .the slot or' recess in thestrip or plate 40 is somewhat exaggerated in the interest of clearness of illustration, Itis not essential however' that it shall project so far that more than one tooth at a time shall act to press toward the feeder those blanks which present edgeportions between it and the feeder. 1I do not limit myself to a toothed Wheel. Any device which will serve to exert continuous and substantially uniform pressure on edge portions of blanks in a hopper so asto urge them successively toward a feeder which removes in` such position, so that the weight of the blanks will cause their rear edges to engage inclined portions of the pins and result in the blanks, as they reach lowermost positions, being directed or shifted forward. This renders it certain that their front edges will be engaged by the presser.

By setting the pins 43 in positions turned 'one-quarter from the positions shown in Figure '1, they will present straight vertical lguides for the rear edges of the blanks, and

still render. it certain that the front edges of the blanks will successively be engaged by the presser. f,

In operationblanks t are placed in the hopper in position so that one ormore near the' presser, the front edge of the `bottom blank resting on thev feeder belt or belts 34 and inline With the narrow vopening or ,throat below gagestrip 40, the lower end of which arrests the next blank until the to rotate, or tend to rotate, yin the direction of the arrow in Figure 2, so that at least one The shaft v rases tooth will engage an edge portion of a blank and urge that blank, and those under it, to-i permit an intermittent slipping of gear 21l relatively to friction disk Q3. It would be objectionable to permit a sawing `of the presser into the blanks.A The slipping just referred to results in the blanks holding the presser stationary until each bottom one is fed out and the-pilel is free to descend a distance equal .to the thickness of one blank. Such descent is instantly effected, with little or no liability of delay or hesitation in the feed, because gravity is aided by the presser. The pins 43 or any equivalent thereof aid. in rendering it certain that the blanks will be in position to be acted upon by the presser. I

' lt will now be understood-that while the `toothed member 41 illustrated rotates'intermittently, it is constantly acting asa presser, and it not only insures the same regularity or uniforvmity'of feed when the pile of blanks is small and of light weight as when the hopper' is full and the pile heavy, but it also insures proper feed when the front edges of the blanks are curled up as` vis frequently the case. The dieing out of blanks from a pile of sheets often causes .4 the blanks,or some of them, to be more or less curved instead, of flat. And sometimes the dies. are

dull and the edges' of the blanks are rough or The lateral adjustment of the bars 26, 27,V

and the ball-and-socket mounting of the pins 43, enables the feeder `to operate properly on blanks of widely different sizes, shapes andl ualities without re uirin(r any manual attention further than vthe occasional depositing ofa stock of blanks in the hopper.

When the pins 43 are adjusted substantially as indicated in Figure 2, the blanks -are mainly supported only at their front and therefore causing the Vblanks to have a con-` down. Another advantage of thisstructure of .pins isfthat the blanks nearest the bottom automatically separate as indicated in Figure 2 and admit air between them. The re` sult is that there is little or no adhesion between the lower blanks and consequently the bottom blank is freer to be fed than is the case where the lower blanks are in contact throughout their areas.

Whether pins 43` ofthe `type illustrated are employed or not, so long as the stock of blanks are held in such position that their front edge portions will be successively engaged by the preer, there will be an uninterrupted downward pressure exerted on the blank or blanks which contact with ;the

presser, and said pressure will be transmtted through lower blanks to the bottom one which is bearing on the feeder 34, so that said bottom one, and only the bottom one, will be fed through the narrow outlet or throat between the lower end of the strip 40 and said feeder34 whether the edge of the bottom blank is curled or not. The action may be illustratively explained by stating that if the presser 41 were to be removed,

the pressing operation could be performed manually by an attendant using the nails of. two or more fingers to successively engage edge portions of the blanks adjacent the strip 40 and exert downward pressure. Y As has been stated, the rubber belts 34 are mounted uponand driven lby the drum 33. The gate or gage strip 40 is directly above the drum or radial to the axis thereof. The reason for this will Vnow be .explained.

WVhen a rubber belt forms one side of a throat or gateway lvthrough which `blanks are to pass singly, anyv variation in the thickness of the belt so asv to` vary the vertical-width of the throat interferes with the operation of the-feeder, as by `permitting 'the passage of two blanks together or the jamming oftwo blanks in the'throat. lf the belts 34 weredriven at the outer ends, as by ,pulleys carried by a shaft in the location of the rod 15, the upper. stretches of,

strain whatever and therefore the thickness through the, throat or 'passageway under `the of that portion remains constant and the height of the passageway ,for the blank urged forward by the belt remains constant and the same as-that for which the ga strip was rst set or adjusted.

A particular feature of my invention resides in the'fac-t that when Aa stock of i'latwlse contacting blanks areplaced in the hopper and are then successively rremoved 7'5 strip 40, such removal permits the. blanks above the vlower one to approach the feeder somewhat intermittently. Thespeed of such approach varies according .to whether .the blanks are thick or thin. The friction drive of the resser howeveris such that each tooth thereo which constitutes a blank engaging member, has' a normal tendency to move toward the feeder at a rate of speedfaster than the removal of blanks by the'feeder 'permlts the engaged blank to approach `.the feeder. "At any time,`more blanks can be added .to the top of the stock `or' `pile 'Withou't interrupting the action of'th'e entire feeder. j

Having now described my invention, what I claim is: H I L1A blank feeding mechanism compris# 1 lng side guides for a pile of blanks, a fric i tion -feeder to act successively on the lower 9 5 blanks of the pile, ressing means toiengageedge portions of blanks inthe; pile,` and means having a constant tendencygto actu,- ate the pressing means to urge the `blanks toward said feeder.

y 2. In a blank feeding mechanism having a hopper for a pile of blanks andv a friction feeder for removing the blanks singly there-` from, a wheel opposite the fronti edges` of the blanks, and means having ta. constant tendency to rotate the wheel in adirection to urge said edge portions toward the feeder.

3. In apparatus ofthe character described, a feeder, a movable member .above the feeder, means for sup orting a `pile of blanks with the front e ge portions of the lower blanks of the pile contacting with' said movable memberhand means foi` actuating the said movable member to urge said edge portions toward the feeder.

4. In-apparatus of the character described, a hopper for a 'pile of blanks, means for feeding out the lower blank of such pile, and means for pressing front edge portions of the lower blanks of the pile toward the 120 feeding out means, said means comprisin a. wheel and frictional driving mechanism for loo constantly urging said wheel in its operative direction.

5. In vapparatus of the character described,

toward'the feeding out means, said means 130 eoi'niiirisiiig a toothed disk, a shaft therefor,

and frictional driving mechanism for said shaft.

front and rear supports for a pile of blanks, the front support being movable to feed the lower blank of the pile` a wheel above said front support.` and means for continuously actuatii'ig the wheel to cause it to press front edge portions of the lower blanks toward said movable front support. 1

7. .A blank feeding mechanism liaving front and rear supports for a pile of blanks,

the front support being movable to feed the lower blank of the pile, a Wheel above said front support, and means for actuating the wheel to cause it to press front edge por tions of the lower blanks toward said movable front support, the'iear support comprising a 4pair of independently adjustable pins. i

8i A blank support comprising a pair of universally. mounted vandindependently adjustable pins.

` 9.l In apparatus of the character described,

a constantly movable feeder, means for hold ing a pile of blanks in position for them to be taken singly from the pile, andl a consti'iiitly `movable member engaging `front yedge portions of blanks in the pile to exert a uniform tendency to press said front edge portions toward the feeder.`

101A machine having a feeder for rei moving blanks from a stock of contacting blanks, characterized by a constantly exist ing outlet or throat of predetermined width and `by a blank engaging member having a normal'tendenoy at the time of feed to move the blanks toward the feederl to urge .them successively-intol line with said outlet or throat at a rate ofV speed faster than the removal of blanks by the feeder permits the engaged blank to approachfthe feeder.

11. machine having a feeder for removing `blanks from Va stock of contacting? blanks, characterized by a constantly exist- 'ingfou'tlet or throat of'predetermined Width and `b'ya member `located to engage blanks n between the extremities of `said stock and` liiiving a normal .tendency at the time of fcedto move the blanks toward the feeder to urge them successively into line with said outlet' or throat at a rate of speed faster 'Y than the removal of blanks' by the feederv permits the engaged blank to approach the feeder.` i i feeding mechanism havingfi'ont and rear supports for a pile of blanks,- g the front support being movable to feed the rier.

l2. A blank feeding mechanism having meansfoi supportinga stock of blanks and provided with a` constantly existing outlet G. A blank feeding mechanism` having" of predetermined width to permit thepassage of one blank ata time, a feeder to ef fect such passage through the outlet, a mov "able'member in position to engage edge pori tions of lower blanks'of the pile in position tobesuccessively engaged by said movable movable member at the time of feedto urge said edge portions toward the feeder and into line with the space below said barrier.

14. A blank feeding mechanism comprising guides for a pile of'blanks, a feeder to act successively on the lower blanks of the pile, a rigid barrier at a predetermined distance from the feeder, and pressing means in position to successively at the time of feed engage portions of the blanks in the pile to urge 'the blanks toward Said feeder and into line with the space below said bar- 15. A. blank-feeding mechanism including a rotary drum, a friction blankforwarding` lbelt driven thereby, a hopper having an out* `let gate directlyabove the axis of saiddrum, nand means for exerting pressure on the blanks to urge their.` forward edges downward.

the belt, and a hopper for blanks to be for# Warded by said belt, said hopper having an outlet gate directly above the axis of the ing roll, saidroll and gate beingirelatively' positioned to provide said gate at the termination of contact of the belt with the roll.'

In testimony whereof I have affixed my signature.

yLnoii La Bonanno.

'80 member, and means for actuating the saidA 16. A blank-feeding mechanism includingl-- 'a blank-forwarding belt, a driving'roll for` 

